Unit 9 Civil Rights Timeline

President's Committee on Civil Rights is established

President Truman establishes the president's committee on Civil Rights.

Jun 29, 1947

First president to address the NAACP

On June 6, 1947, Harry Truman became the first president to address the NAACP and gave a speech at the Lincoln Memorial with many civil rights leaders in the crowd.

May 17, 1954

Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board Of Education is a lawsuit from Oliver L. Brown when he sued Topeka B.O.E for refusing to enroll African-American students and forced them to walk over a mile to a segregated school. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court where they ruled that the actions of segregation in the schools were unconstitutional and ordered all public schools to integrate. This case even overturned a previous case known as Plessy v. Ferguson.

1955

Georgia changes it's flag

Georgia General Assembly voted to create a new flag without asking the citizens. People believe the flag was changed due to how others felt it was opposing federal desegregation.

Dec 1, 1955

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to whites in Montgomery, Alabama. As M.L.K and the NAACP heard of the event, they organized a boycott and boycotted buses in the city. Supreme Court eventually ruled that segregation on public transportation to be unconstitutional.

1957

Southern Christain Leadership Conference is formed

Led by Martin Luther King and it's headquarters was in Atlanta. Their purpose was to work for civil rights of African-Americans without being violent. They would file lawsuits against segregation and organized boycotts, marches, and rallies during the Civil Rights era.

1960

The Sibley Commission

In the 1960's, Georgia schools had still not integrated from the Supreme Court's ruling on the Brown v. Board Of Education trial. Georgia's governor at the time, Ernest Vandiver, formed a committee in order to see what public opinion was like on integration. He would let the committee to be led by John Sibley. They both would hold hearings across Georgia to let the voters put in their input. As results came in, 60% of Georgians claimed they would rather close schools than to integrate.

1961

Atlanta School System officially desegregated

First schools started to integrate and allow African-Americans into their schools.

Jan 9, 1961

First African-American students allowed into UGA

On January 9, 1961, the first African-American students were allowed into University of Georgia. One of was a boy and the other was a girl. They were named Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter. Holmes became a well known orthopedic surgeon in Georgia and Charlayne became a journalist.

Jan 31, 1961

General Assembly repeals laws in Georgia not allowing integration

Georgia was ignoring the statement from the Supreme Court to integrate all schools and if any schools integrated, the state would stop funding them. Then, the General Assembly repealed these laws letting schools integrate and still be funded.

Nov 17, 1961

Albany Movement

A movement formed to desegregate Albany, Georgia. Marches were organized by the SNCC and NAACP. Martin Luther King would lead hundreds of protesters through the streets. Nearly 500 people were arrested including MLK. Protests were considered a failure due to no immediate change of civil rights, but used the tactics they learned from those protests for future ones.

1963

Protesters move on to Alabama

In 1963, MLK moved on to try to integrate Birmingham, Alabama. As protests went on, over 3000 people were arrested including children. Protests worked and businesses started to desegregate. Tragedy broke as a KKK bomb went off in Birmingham and ended up killing 4 African-American children at a local church. This brought whites and blacks to join together and end all the violence.

Aug 28, 1963

March On Washington

A march setup to desegregate jobs and allow freedom for African-Americans. 200,000 people marched from the Washington Monument all the way to the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. This march is known to be successful in the help of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Jul 2, 1964

Civil Rights Act of 1964

President John F. Kennedy sponsored civil right laws, but was unfortunately assassinated before he could sign them into laws. The signing of these laws made the Democratic party split into two sides if you were against it or not. The laws were signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson, J.F.K's Vice President and the 36th president.

1971

Last school in Georgia integrates

Finally all school systems have integrated and allow African-Americans into every Georgia school.

1990

The creation of "The Barnes Flag"

During the 1990's, Georgia was facing a decline in business and were losing many tourists due to the fight over the flag. Arguments lead to threats about overshadowing the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. In 2001, another new flag was created and passed by the General Assembly. Flag would eventually be named after Georgia's governor at the time, Roy Barnes.

Sep 6, 1996

Summerhill Race Riot

A riot that lasted for four days in Summerhill, a neighborhood in Atlanta. The protest started due to the SNCC and it's leader telling a story about an incident of police brutality. As the protest went on, the mayor of Atlanta at the time, Ivan Allen Jr., asked rioters to stop. When the riot eventually stopped, the mayor and police along with some black leaders worked on restoring the damage caused. The SNCC was blamed for causing the riot after the protesters had stopped.